


Part of Us

by ArtemisEmrys



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DC Extended Universe, DCU, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Camping, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 12:00:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16197110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtemisEmrys/pseuds/ArtemisEmrys
Summary: Clark wants Lois to go on a camping trip to solidify their friendship. Lois just wants a scoop (even if no one will ever read it). Bruce just wants to do it his way. The kids just want to have fun. What they get is a whole new definition of 'family.'





	Part of Us

**Author's Note:**

> Okay. I’m am a complete novice to this fandom. What I know (or think I know) I’ve gotten mostly through fanfiction and watching film theories. So, please take this with a grain of salt. I am going to be writing bout the Batfam, but only in a way that talks about their bonding in the family. I know very little about the in and outs of the comics, but I have come to love these guys through fanfiction. Would you believe it was Dawn of Justice that got me into this? I’ve always been a Superman fan, but Batman…eh…not so much. I hope this is enjoyable anyway, but please if I get anything wrong, please tell me in the comments and I mean no offense. I will be working on this in spurts as I try to get back into writing fics as a relaxation exercise. So, wish me luck!

Lois Lane didn’t have many regrets in life.

Yeah, sure there were a couple dark alleys she’d wished she’d avoided, articles she never finished, leads she never quite caught up to, but overall, she’d lived her life with zeal and purpose. She’d made some good friends, even better enemies, and had won Pulitzer's doing what she loved more than anything in the world. But lately, she’d wondered if maybe she had missed something important in her life.

Now, she didn’t want to be cliché and say that love solved everything. No, she’d leave that to the gossip rags and the personal adds. But, she had to admit, sometimes she looked back on the greatest lost love of her life and wondered… _what if?_

Clark Kent sat hunched over his desk, glasses smudged, a pencil between his lips, fingers loosely pulling at the curls in his hair as he worked on some piece of political drama. Lois glanced surreptitiously over at the other reporter, thinking back on their whirl-wind romance. It had been almost 2 years since they’d cut it off, and the relationship had lasted a little over three. Three wonderful years of waking up in arms that could crush a school bus into a ball, but only ever treated her with kindness. Of smiles that lit up eyes so crystal blue that they made the sky over Metropolis pale in comparison. Of soft laughter as they cuddled up on Lois’s worn couch, watching old movies that Clark, who had apparently spent most of his youth under a rock (or in Kansas) had never seen. Those years were burned into her heart like a totem. She’d never forget the joy they had.

But there had also been pain. Clark had a responsibility to the world as Superman that always superseded their relationship. Lois had understood that. She’d never try to take that away from him: Superman was a part of Clark’s identity. One side of a coin that was incomplete without the other. No, what she hadn’t been able to handle was the loss.

Superman… no, _Clark_ had died. Died saving her from a situation she had put herself in. She had just been so sure that she was invulnerable. That even if she was caught snooping around, Clark would swoop in to save the day like he always did. Superman would never let her down, never let her die some gruesome death at the hands of a villain like Luthor. And she was right. Clark _hadn’t_ let her die. He had died himself, perishing at the hands of some doomsday creature Luthor had created, using Lois as bait after he’d caught her infiltrating his home in the center of Metropolis. Lois should have never gone there. She knew how dangerous the situation was, how likely it was that she’d get caught. But she’d had a story, and that was all that ever mattered to her, in those days.

So Superman had come to the rescue. He died. And for over two months, that was it. A world without Superman. Her world without Clark Kent. It was all on her, and only she knew.

Even when he miraculously returned, she hadn’t been able to look him in the eye for a long while. Their friendship had recovered, but that life they shared never returned. She sometimes wondered if it had been a mistake.

“Lois. Lois?”

Lois jumped. She’d been staring off into space for the last few minutes. She sat up and smiled winsomely at Clark, who was now standing over her with a concerned expression on his handsome face. “Hey, Clark.”

“I’ve been talking to you for nearly a minute. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Lois just continued to smile blandly. “Sorry, I was off in La-La Land.” She shrugged, shuffling some papers on her desk to give her the chance to look away from bright blue eyes shielded by thick glasses. “What’d you need?”

Clark didn’t look too convinced but seemed to decide to let it go after a moment’s consideration. “I was asking if you had plans this weekend.”

Lois hoped Clark couldn’t see her subtle flinch or notice her heartbeat skip a beat. Why was he asking her this? He couldn’t possibly know what she had been thinking a moment ago, could he? And even if he somehow figured it out, it was way past time for any ‘fix’ for their relationship. They were friends. Good friends even. Despite no longer dating, Clark still shared nearly everything about both sides of his life with her. It had taken months to get back to that type of friendship, so why now, of all times…? Also… the man was practically married to-

“Bruce and I are taking the kids up state for three days of ‘camping fun’ as Dick puts it.” Only Clark would actually use hand quotes. Lois inwardly sighed. Of course. What was she thinking? Clark was definitely off the market, most likely for good. She needed to get these thoughts out of her head. She tuned back into what he was saying with a skeptical eyebrow raise. “We were wondering if you’d like to come along.”

Lois could only stare at him for a nearly a full minute. Clark squirmed.

“You want me to come on some sort of… family trip to the woods with you and your…” She lowered her voice, glancing around. “Nearly murderous vigilante boyfriend and his ninja children? Me, your ex. Are you nuts?” She waved a hand around. “Doesn’t this seem like sort of a…. private affair?”

“Oh come on, Bruce likes you.”

Lois snorts.

“And so will the kids.” He sidled up to her desk, using his I’m-a-farmboy-I-can’t -do-nobody-no-harm-no-how persona to full effect, big eyes peeking from under long lashes and even actually biting his lip. The manipulative bastard. “I suggested it, and Bruce agreed. It’s gonna be us and seven kids if we go by ourselves, and it’s not like there are a lot of people who know us both… um…. In all the ways you know us. Plus,” Here he played all his cards, “you’re my best friend, and we can’t spend much time together anymore, _and I miss you_ , and I want Bruce and the kids to know you better so we can do stuff like this more often and they’ll start to call you ‘Aunty Lois’ and invite you to Christmas and birthdays… and just say yes, please?” He pouted at her. “I promise it’ll be fun…?”

The thing is, Lois knew she should just say no. Clark would be disappointed, but he’d understand. This was bound to be awkward. There was no way for it not to at least be a little awkward. But… she had to admit she was curious. Ever since Clark had come to her with the news that he and his Justice League co-leader and he had begun what he enthusiastically dubbed ‘dating’ and what Lois had called ‘sucking neck’ she had wondered. It was nearly a half year later that a mission that intersected with one of her own stories had revealed the secret identity of the Bat to be none other than Gotham’s own Prince, Bruce Wayne. Sometimes she still couldn’t believe it. She’d seen plenty of video footage of Brucie Wayne (who hadn’t?) and had even been saved by Batman a few times on her trips to Gotham (i.e. dark alleys she should have avoided). She had never seen two people more diametrically opposed, but she supposed that was the genius of the duality.

But how was he under the mask, out of the fancy suits? How did he and Clark interact? And why was Clark so head over heels with a guy that seemed to either be all flash and glimmer, or a brick wall with the emotions of a spoiled turnip.

Lois admitted she wanted to see the appeal.

For her own sanity, she should say no. For the sake of the scoop (even if she was the only one who would ever be a party to it) she had to say yes.

Plus, Clark’s puppy eyes just could not be ignored.

She sighed, covering her own eyes with a hand. “This better be good. If I’m going out into the woods with a billionaire, I expect more than burlap tents and poison ivy.”

Clark gave her what, for him, could be called a wicked grin. “Oh, I’m sure Bruce will redefine your idea of ‘glamping.’”

“Didn’t you say he spent a very long time living off the land, training in Asia?”

“Yeah… but we’ve got kids with us. I’m sure he’ll want all the amenities. After all, this is about fun and bonding, not training.” Clark looked a bit uncertain as he said this, but as he went back to his desk his face cleared. “Anyway, whatever we need I can always come back and get if we don’t have it.” He smiled at Lois over top of his glasses, sitting back in his chair “I’ll get you the details by tomorrow.”

Lois nodded, and went back to her own article. She supposed this could be fun. It’s be great to meet the kids, spend time with Clark (in a platonic way, of course), get to know Bruce Wayne. She was sure there’d be all types of crazy amenities camping with the one of the richest men on the Eastern seaboard, right?

And anyways, it was only 3 days. What could go wrong?

Tbc...

**Author's Note:**

> No beta. All mistakes are my own.


End file.
